biffi



E. BIFFI.

,PERCUSSION FUSE FOR PROJECTILES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 17| 1918.

Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

2 SHEETS- SHEET l.

INVENTOR.

nmiiiii.

Vlll

E. BIFFI.

PERCUSSION FUSE FOR PROJECTILES.

, APPLICATION FILED OCT-17, 1918. 1,322

Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" Av1-o nu sv INVENTOR TV LZZ rui-vomit' may concern.'

EGISTOBIFFI, or LECCO, ITALY.

PERCUSSION-russ rca raornc'rfns. i

v Be it known that I Eerrs'ro BIFFI, acitizen of theeKingdom of Italy,vresidin'g at Lecco, Italy, have'invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Percussion-Fuses for Projectiles, of Awhich' the following is a specifi'cation. 'A Y The present invention'relates to a new 'kind of percussion fuse for projectiles in general and'particularly applicable to projectiles termed hand, grenades which conf 'st-itute the ordinary weapons of the trenches and the invention is intended to obtain the following objects with the greatest, certainty and efficacy.

l. Such meansand methods of safety as will entirely obviate deliagrations vor accidental spontaneous explosions either in storing or in handling the projectile.

2. A method of automatically controlling.VY

the firing-pin so that the action thereof and consequently thekexplosion of the projectile may be made inevitable and be absolutely assured whatever revolutionit may effect in its flight. Y y

The ideaV of the invention will be easily understood by referring tothe accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of eX- ample one method of carrying out the invention applied to a hand grenade and in which:

Figure l shows on an enlarged scale the grenade referred to in the position of safety and in vertical section through its center.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the upper part.

Fig. 3 shows the grenade in the ideal explosion position that is to say after striking the object aimed at in vertical sectiony through its center..

Fig. 4 is a section along the line -m-- in Fig. l and finally Fig. 5 is an elevation on a smaller scale.

In the drawings the same numerals indiv similar manner to the extension -23-- l Specication of Letters Patent. t. Patented NOV. 2.15,vr 17919.V Application mee october 17,1918.' serial No. 25se5a- Y i fixed. l A

y rlhe ,arrangement underconsideration connivrTE@ @Terre PATENTOFFFCE? *f 7 sists'of two supportsxed to the Vbase 44- v on which the pincers -S-are mountedso Las to pivot around-JL-l these 4pincers beingA furnished with bilateral (jaws '-9-, "-lO-f--for the` purpose of holding thevball f -illl-and the head -12- of the. firinglpin respectively. -15 is an .an-

tagonistic spiral spring arranged' so as to allowv the striking-pin to act whengleft to itself. i

Screwed on tothe cylinder small tube -16- for the percussion vcap,

'-17 and thel detonating substance #1S-.v

"For the protection of the percussion cap -l7- a small tin disk -19- and a retaining ring -20- are provided.

In; order to .maintain the striking pin 14- in the position of safety a pin -21- is provided which runs through and firmly holds together the cap, the arms of jaws 9d and the ball -11- so as to prevent the opening of the` jaws -10- and con-VV +24- held in place by the pin -21-, in-

sures its stability when the projectile is at rest.

In order to prevent the said stop -22-- leaving Vits seat prematurely on the projectile being thrown and after the pin 21- and ring- M have been removed, a small rope 2G- is provided. One end of this rope is secured at -27 to the extensionY -23-, andthe other end, after making two or three turns around the projectile body, is secured to a plate -28- arranged in a It is evident that these subsidiary stop devices serve and are meant to operate solely in case of accidental shocks occurring in the handling of the grenade after the removal of the pin -21-. In any case the arrangement of the spring -15- relatively to the reaction to be exercised on the aws -.-10- in order to prevent the loosening of the .y powder in the chamber -2-.

striking pin '-147- is such that the ball -11- remains in place. .Y

The operation is as follows:

After the grenade has been. seized with the.

right hand, the thumb pressing the plate -2S-, vthe safety pin -'21- Vand the ring are removed and the grenadefls launched. In its Hight the plate l--QS'r--vwill automatically detach itself b y gravity dragging along with it, after a time interval 'delpendent .Y on the unwinding of the rope striking pin 1% by striking the percus-V sion cap will explode the detonating material 18- and Aconsequently 4the charge of It is understood that' the details ojl construction may Vary 1n practice without going beyond the limits of the invention.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is .to be performed I declare that what I claim is:

VVA percussion fuse for projectiles comprising a projectile body, a tensioned ring pin, pincers pivoted on depending portions of the vinterior of the projectile body, arms on said pincers, j aws on said arms for gripping the head of Ysaid tensioned pin, a member frictionally engaged between said arms to keep theV jaws in lgripping position, a Vcatch for said firing pin having an outwardly extending portion bento'ver the exterior surface Vof the projectile body, a plate bearing against the eXterior surface of the projectile Y body, fa rope coiled around the'proj ectile body over said extensionand said plate with its ends joined to the1n,a ring linking together said plat@ and said extension, and a stoppin lodged in the projectile-body and cross- Y ing the V member and engaged between the arms above said pincers.

In testimony whereof I afiXed my signature 1n presence of two witnesses.

kEGrISTO BIFFI. Witnesses: j

IVAN LAVETSKY, GIAN' GIACOMO GUARRIDO.' 

